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Raileurope.com: See Europe by train
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Old 08-11-2008, 03:05 AM   #1
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Default Cell phone needed in Europe

Alright so I am in Europe for a few months and I never thought I would need a cell phone. Turns out it would be really handy, especially for countries like Finland where they took out all public phones a few years ago.

When I was in the UK, my couchsurfing hosts (aussies) bought this cool Skype phone that was 30 quid, and you only paid 10 quid a month to top it up (which included local minutes) and then you could Skype for free to all Skype phones or computers.

Does anyone have any experience with grabbing an ulocked phone, or something that would work in all countries for several months?
I would like to grab a phone in the Eastern Bloc countries, because I assume that the consumer prices are low.... But then do you have to make payments for service to the companies in these countries, and therefore once you leave - roaming charges apply? I don't know if I am making sense at all.
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Old 08-11-2008, 05:37 AM   #2
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You have several options here. You could always go the Skype route. I'm not too knowledgeable on that so i'll defer to others.

Best bet if you wanna buy a phone might be to go with a company like Telestial. They assign you a European number and you pay for calls like normal.

You could buy an unlocked phone (either used or new) and get a new SIM card for each country/region you'll be visiting.

Read more about both of these options at http://www.slowtrav.com/europe/cell_phones.htm

We've also discussed cell phones on the road on this post here. Check it out and mayeb pick up some more tips.

Hope that helps.
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Old 08-11-2008, 09:46 AM   #3
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I got the cheapest option from Telestial while I was in Europe and it worked great.

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Old 08-11-2008, 11:02 AM   #4
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I'd find a cheap used phone and pick up SIM cards along the way. Make a wanted post on the CS group cities you're visiting next, or put an ad in that cities craigslist equivalent for the phone. I picked up SIM cards in Ukraine and Poland for about 3 dollars so its prob the going rate around Central Europe. I dunno how much the SIM cards are once you move west.

Hope you're havin fun! Where you headed next?
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Old 08-18-2008, 12:57 AM   #5
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You may check on Callineurope.com, it is a low cost service,
roaming costs seems to be competitive compared to few sources I verified.
I saw you do not pay any monthly fees an you can reroute your US number while travelling.
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